Proposed Constitutional Amendment Passes Wyoming Senate

A proposed constitutional amendment that specifies that the courts could not order new taxes to pay for education in Wyoming has passed the Wyoming Senate by a 22-8 margin and is now headed to the state House of Representatives.

The vote meant that Senate Joint Resolution 4 cleared the needed 2/3 majority needed for Senate approval with two votes to spare. It would likewise need a 2/3 majority vote in the state house, and then get a majority of those voting in the 2018 election to win final approval.

Under Wyoming law, voters who choose not to vote on a constitutional amendment but who vote on other issues in a given election are essentially counted as ''no'' votes.

A similar proposal, House Joint Resolution 9, failed to make it out of committee in the state House earlier this session.

While SJ 4 would ban courts from ordering new taxes to pay for education, they could still strike down state school funding plans as unconstitutional. The bill's primary sponsor is Senator Affie Ellis [R-Laramie County]